Oral Argument Calendar: Nov. 10

Lopez (Eduardo) v. Nevada Dept. of Corrections,Docket No. 54174Carson City - 10:00 a.m. - Justices Cherry, Saitta, and GibbonsThis
is an appeal from a Carson City district court order granting a motion
to dismiss an inmate's lawsuit for failure to exhaust administrative
remedies. Eduardo Lopez, an inmate at the Ely State Prison, brought a
tort action alleging that the Nevada Department of Corrections (NDOC)
was negligent in failing to follow its policies and procedures by
housing Lopez with a known enemy, Jeffery Troxel. Lopez allegedly
sustained injuries caused by Troxel during an altercation in their
shared cell on June 29, 2006. According to NDOC's inmate grievance
procedure, an inmate must initiate an informal grievance involving
personal injury within six months of when the claim arises. Lopez filed
an informal inmate grievance on March 10, 2007, more than six months
after the alleged claim arose. The NDOC rejected the grievance as being
untimely. Lopez filed a first-level grievance on April 2, 2007, and it
also was rejected as being untimely. Lopez never filed a second-level
grievance. Lopez filed a civil complaint against the NDOC in the
district court on June 24, 2008. The district court dismissed Lopez's
lawsuit on the basis that Lopez failed to exhaust administrative
remedies prior to initiating a state tort action. Lopez appeals. ISSUES:
Did the district court err in granting the NDOC's motion to dismiss due
to Lopez's failure to exhaust administrative remedies? Does NRS
209.243(1) violate equal protection by restricting a prisoner's right to
file a personal injury administrative claim within six months of the
date of the injury, while non-prisoners may file such an action within
two years of the injury? Is the precedent set forth in Turner v. Staggs, 89 Nev. 230, 510 P.2d 879 (1973), still controlling law in Nevada?

Goodlow (Deljuan) v. State of Nevada,Docket No. 54198Carson City - 10:30 a.m. - Justices Cherry, Saitta, and GibbonsThis
is Deljuan Goodlow's appeal of his judgment of conviction, entered
after a Washoe County jury found him guilty, for first-degree murder
with the use of a deadly weapon, home invasion, and burglary. The
underlying incident began when Carolyn Van Loock and Royce Riley were
staying at the Lido Inn in Reno during a trip from California and
witnessed two men arguing. After seeing a gun, they went inside their
motel room. Frank Smith and Deljuan Goodlow broke the couple's motel
room window, attempted to kick down the door, and shot Riley, while Van
Loock hid in the bathroom. Riley died from a gunshot wound to the
chest. Security cameras from a neighboring property recorded some of
the incident. Smith and Goodlow fled from the Lido Inn in a black car.
Police searched for the black car and eventually found it, although no
one was inside. Officers saw blood both inside and outside the car and
then found Goodlow nearby, with cuts on his arm and the keys to the car
in his possession. The police arrested Goodlow and showed him the
surveillance video that recorded the incident. Goodlow admitted that he
was in the recording. Over Goodlow's objection, the district court
ruled that his case and Smith's should be tried together. During jury
selection, the district court judge commented on the "horrible" crimes
and referred to notorious historical figures. When Goodlow moved for a
mistrial due to the statements, the district court denied the motion.
The defendants also objected, under Batson v. Kentucky,
to the State's use of peremptory challenges to exclude potential
minority jurors, but the district court denied the defendants'
objection. After a seven-day trial, the jury convicted Goodlow, and the
district court sentenced him to consecutive sentences of life in prison
without the possibility of parole. ISSUES: Did the
district court abuse its discretion in joining Goodlow's and Smith's
cases? Do the district court judge's comments during jury selection
require this court to reverse Goodlow's conviction? Did the State's use
of peremptory challenges to exclude potential minority jurors during
jury selection violate Batson v. Kentucky? Was there sufficient evidence to support Goodlow's convictions for burglary and first-degree murder?

Kamalaudeen (Mohamed) v. State of Nevada,Docket No. 53067Carson City - 11:30 p.m. - Justices Cherry, Saitta, and GibbonsThis
is Mohamed Kamalaudeen's appeal of his judgment of conviction, entered
after a Washoe County jury found him guilty, for murder and solicitation
to commit murder for the killing of University of Nevada, Reno,
professor Judy Calder. Kamalaudeen was sentenced to life in prison
without the possibility of parole for murder, a consecutive term of 5 to
20 years for a deadly weapon enhancement, and 4 to 15 years in prison
for solicitation to commit murder. ISSUES: Should the
public defender's office have been disqualified from representing
Kamalaudeen because it represented one of the State's witnesses in an
unrelated case? Did the district court err by admitting gruesome
autopsy photographs? Was Kamalaudeen's sentence for the deadly weapon
enhancement correct? (Disclaimer: This synopsis is
intended to provide only general information about this case before the
Nevada Supreme Court. It is not intended to be all inclusive or reflect
all positions of the parties.)

Smith (Frank) v. State of Nevada,Docket No. 54234Carson City - 2:00 p.m. - Justices Cherry, Saitta, and GibbonsIn
this case, Frank Smith is appealing his judgment of conviction, entered
after a Washoe County jury found him guilty, for first-degree murder
with the use of a deadly weapon, home invasion, and burglary. The
underlying incident began when Carolyn Van Loock and Royce Riley were
staying at the Lido Inn in Reno during a trip from California and
witnessed two men arguing. After seeing a gun, they went inside their
motel room. Frank Smith and Deljuan Goodlow broke the couple's motel
room window, attempted to kick down the door, and shot Riley, while Van
Loock hid in the bathroom. Riley died from a gunshot wound to the
chest. Security cameras from a neighboring property recorded some of
the incident. Smith and Goodlow fled from the Lido Inn in a black car.
Police searched for the black car and eventually found it, although no
one was inside. Officers saw blood both inside and outside the car and
located Goodlow nearby, with cuts on his arm and the keys to the car in
his possession. After the police arrested him, Goodlow identified Smith
as being involved. Smith was eventually extradited from California.
During the seven-day joint trial, Goodlow testified on his own behalf,
while Smith chose to remain silent. A jury convicted both men of
first-degree murder, home invasion, and burglary. The district court
sentenced Smith to life in prison without the possibility of parole,
plus an equal consecutive term for the use of a deadly weapon. Smith
now appeals. ISSUES: Did the district court err by
failing to sever Smith's trial? Does Smith's conviction rest on
insufficient evidence? Should this court overrule its prior opinion in State v. District Court (Pullin), 124 Nev. 564, 188 P.3d 1079 (2008)?